Tales of the Black Fox

Or: how to turn catastrophic failure to profit.

Morrdh

Morrdh is a frontier world in the Koronus Expanse and was discovered by Sebastian Winterscale very early in his career. A lost world of man, it was covered in extensive ruins and great Cyclopean cities long buried beneath millennia of dark forest and dank swamplands. The native population were examined and found wholesome despite their long separation from the light of the Emperor, but for reasons unknown colonists were brought from the Greater Imperium to resettle Morrdh. Natives who were slow to abandon their old beliefs and practices were pushed to the fringes, and even today those with Native blood are viewed with some suspicion.

The tantalising prospect of Archeotech brought representatives of the Adeptus Mechanicus to Morrdh, while the prospect of conversion brought representatives of the Ecclesiarchy. Colonists sought to rule themselves alone, while Winterscale wished to exploit the mysterious bounties of the world for himself and his burgeoning dynasty. Fractious squabbling between these factions brought down the wrath of the Inquisition, who brokered a settlement – Morrdh and its people would be led by a council representing each faction, a council headed by a leader chosen from the ranks of the new settlers.

Queen Lothwyn XIV is the current monarch of Morrdh and planetary governor, ruling from the capital city of Morrdun. Beneath her, a Magos Explorator, an Ecclesiarchical official and a memeber of the Winterscale sit as advisers. Each has their own agenda, and each not-so secretly longs to rule alone. Were it not for the obsidian tower of the Inquisitorial manse casting long shadows over the capital it is very likely that one would have made their move by now. For now, they are content to plot and intrigue and to quietly indulge in smuggling ancient artefacts offworld.

Recently, Queen Lothwyn has pushed for her world to become a Garrison world. Her reasons for doing so are unclear, as it would entail far higher tithes and far more Imperial oversight. Some suspect that she hopes to force a confrontation between the other factions, a confrontation she clearly believes will end successfully for her. Others believe that she knows of some dark threat looming on the horizon. Those allied to Rogue Traders fear that it is the first step towards Imperial annexation of what they see as their rightful domain.

Despite the intrigue ridden politics, Morrdh is one of the major sources of promethium in the Expanse and its lumber is valued by Imperial nobles in the Calixis Sector and beyond as are the relics found in the mire-bound ruins that dot the planet’s surface….